Bradley Manning acquitted of aiding the enemy

FILE - In this Monday, July 29, 2013, file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md. U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted Tuesday, July 30, 2013, of aiding the enemy for giving classified secrets to WikiLeaks. The military judge hearing the case, Army Col. Denise Lind, announced the verdict. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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FILE - In this Monday, July 29, 2013, file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md. U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted Tuesday, July 30, 2013, of aiding the enemy for giving classified secrets to WikiLeaks. The military judge hearing the case, Army Col. Denise Lind, announced the verdict. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
/ AP

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, right, is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Tuesday, July 30, 2013, before a hearing in his court martial. The military judge hearing Manning's trial is expected to announce her decision Tuesday afternoon. Manning faces 21 counts including espionage, computer fraud and theft charges, but the most serious is aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life sentence. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)— AP

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, right, is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Tuesday, July 30, 2013, before a hearing in his court martial. The military judge hearing Manning's trial is expected to announce her decision Tuesday afternoon. Manning faces 21 counts including espionage, computer fraud and theft charges, but the most serious is aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life sentence. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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FILE -In this Monday, July 29, 2013 file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md. after the third day of deliberations in his court martial. US Army Pfc Bradley Manning was acquitted Tuesday, July 30, 2013 of aiding the enemy for giving secrets to WikiLeaks. Manning was convicted on espionage counts realted to the WikiLeaks case. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)— AP

FILE -In this Monday, July 29, 2013 file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md. after the third day of deliberations in his court martial. US Army Pfc Bradley Manning was acquitted Tuesday, July 30, 2013 of aiding the enemy for giving secrets to WikiLeaks. Manning was convicted on espionage counts realted to the WikiLeaks case. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
/ AP

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, left, is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Monday, July 29, 2013, after the third day of deliberations in his court martial. Manning faces charges including aiding the enemy, espionage, computer fraud and theft for admittedly sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents and some battlefield video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)— AP

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, left, is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Monday, July 29, 2013, after the third day of deliberations in his court martial. Manning faces charges including aiding the enemy, espionage, computer fraud and theft for admittedly sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents and some battlefield video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
/ AP

FORT MEADE, Md. 
U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy - the most serious charge he faced - but was convicted of espionage, theft and other charges Tuesday, more than three years after he spilled secrets to WikiLeaks.

The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, deliberated for about 16 hours over three days before reaching her decision in a case that drew worldwide attention as supporters hailed Manning as a whistleblower. The U.S. government called him an anarchist computer hacker and attention-seeking traitor.

Manning stood at attention, flanked by his attorneys, as the judge read her verdicts. He appeared not to react, though his attorney, David Coombs, smiled faintly when he heard not guilty on aiding the enemy, which carried a potential life sentence.

When the judge was done, Coombs put his hand on Manning's back and whispered something to him, eliciting a slight smile on the soldier's face.

Manning was convicted on 19 of 21 charges, and he previously pleaded guilty to a charge involving an Icelandic cable. He faces up to 136 years in prison. His sentencing hearing begins Wednesday.

Coombs came outside the court to a round of applause and shouts of "thank you" from a few dozen Manning supporters.

"We won the battle, now we need to go win the war," Coombs said of the sentencing phase. "Today is a good day, but Bradley is by no means out of the fire."

Supporters thanked him for his work. One slipped him a private note. Others asked questions about verdicts that they didn't understand.

Manning's court-martial was unusual because he acknowledged giving the anti-secrecy website more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables, and video of a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack that killed civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.

In the footage, airmen laughed and called targets "dead bastards." A military investigation found troops mistook the camera equipment for weapons.

Besides the aiding the enemy acquittal, Manning was also found not guilty of an espionage charge when the judge found prosecutors had not proved their assertion Manning started giving material to WikiLeaks in late 2009. Manning said he started the leaks in February the following year.

Manning pleaded guilty earlier this year to lesser offenses that could have brought him 20 years behind bars, yet the government continued to pursue all but one of the original, more serious charges.

Manning said during a pre-trial hearing in February he leaked the material to expose the U.S military's "bloodlust" and disregard for human life, and what he considered American diplomatic deceit. He said he chose information he believed would not the harm the United States and he wanted to start a debate on military and foreign policy. He did not testify at his court-martial.

Coombs portrayed Manning as a "young, naive but good-intentioned" soldier who was in emotional turmoil, partly because he was a gay service member at a time when homosexuals were barred from serving openly in the U.S. military.